Let’s break free of our Golden Dome of Wisdom for a moment and ponder the future.
And the future I’m pondering is 2026. Do you, like me, have “Semiquincentennial” fever? Or maybe it’s “semi quin,” “Sestercentennial” or a “quarter millennium.”
No matter how you say it, on July 4, 2026, it will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Take that Brits.
Yes, fine, the Continental Congress voted on July 2 and the declaration wasn’t signed until Aug. 2. I bet you sticklers are fun at semiquincentennial celebrations.
One of the most important issues regarding America 250, which is what a federal commission planning the celebration calls it, is who will be our president as this big national moment passes.
If it’s President Joe Biden, we can expect a truly authentic celebration. After all, he was there when the declaration was signed. (Rimshot.) Get it? He’s old.
Surely there will be parades, fireworks and big doings in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and other cities and towns with historic ties to independence. Sure, Biden might inadvertently call George Washington George Costanza or, God forbid, eat ice cream.
It won’t be a massive Biden ego trip. Not his style.
And, like the Bicentennial in 1976, there may be a renewed interest in the country’s history. That would be great, so long as it’s real history, chronicling the nation’s triumphs, failures and problems marring the U.S. to this day. No, kids, George Costanza didn’t cut down a cherry tree.
If Donald Trump is president again, the nation’s 250th birthday will be all about him. He’s also old, but his childishness may have fooled you.
You may recall, last year in a video Trump suggested a Great American State Fair lasting for a year would be a centerpiece in his celebration plans. But where would it be held?
“My hope is that the amazing people of Iowa will work with my administration to open up the legendary Iowa State Fairgrounds to host the Great American State Fair and welcome millions and millions of visitors from around the world to the heartland of America for this special one-time festival,” Trump said in the video, according to Politico. “Together we will build it, and they will come.”
Pander alert.
But that was before Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed Trump’s primary rival, Ron DeSantis. Iowa may now be on the naughty list. Perhaps Trump can make his ally, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, “governor of the Great American State Fair.” She will rule with an iron fist.
Trump also wants some sort of Patriot Games for high school athletes and hopes to revive his “National Garden of American Heroes.” Who gets to pick the heroes? Who do you think?
There also will be a parade of military vehicles painted gold and marked with a red “T” emblem. OK, Trump hasn’t said that, but you know he’s thinking it.
As for history, Trump started the 1776 project to promote whitewashed “patriotic” education. He said American-loathing libs are weaving a “twisted web of lies.” It’s really going to bring us together.
But the best aspect of America 250, presented by MAGA, is we’ll be celebrating the long history of our republic’s democratic institutions as they’re being blown up. Ooh, ah!
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
And the future I’m pondering is 2026. Do you, like me, have “Semiquincentennial” fever? Or maybe it’s “semi quin,” “Sestercentennial” or a “quarter millennium.”
No matter how you say it, on July 4, 2026, it will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Take that Brits.
Yes, fine, the Continental Congress voted on July 2 and the declaration wasn’t signed until Aug. 2. I bet you sticklers are fun at semiquincentennial celebrations.
One of the most important issues regarding America 250, which is what a federal commission planning the celebration calls it, is who will be our president as this big national moment passes.
If it’s President Joe Biden, we can expect a truly authentic celebration. After all, he was there when the declaration was signed. (Rimshot.) Get it? He’s old.
Surely there will be parades, fireworks and big doings in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and other cities and towns with historic ties to independence. Sure, Biden might inadvertently call George Washington George Costanza or, God forbid, eat ice cream.
It won’t be a massive Biden ego trip. Not his style.
And, like the Bicentennial in 1976, there may be a renewed interest in the country’s history. That would be great, so long as it’s real history, chronicling the nation’s triumphs, failures and problems marring the U.S. to this day. No, kids, George Costanza didn’t cut down a cherry tree.
If Donald Trump is president again, the nation’s 250th birthday will be all about him. He’s also old, but his childishness may have fooled you.
You may recall, last year in a video Trump suggested a Great American State Fair lasting for a year would be a centerpiece in his celebration plans. But where would it be held?
“My hope is that the amazing people of Iowa will work with my administration to open up the legendary Iowa State Fairgrounds to host the Great American State Fair and welcome millions and millions of visitors from around the world to the heartland of America for this special one-time festival,” Trump said in the video, according to Politico. “Together we will build it, and they will come.”
Pander alert.
But that was before Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed Trump’s primary rival, Ron DeSantis. Iowa may now be on the naughty list. Perhaps Trump can make his ally, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, “governor of the Great American State Fair.” She will rule with an iron fist.
Trump also wants some sort of Patriot Games for high school athletes and hopes to revive his “National Garden of American Heroes.” Who gets to pick the heroes? Who do you think?
There also will be a parade of military vehicles painted gold and marked with a red “T” emblem. OK, Trump hasn’t said that, but you know he’s thinking it.
As for history, Trump started the 1776 project to promote whitewashed “patriotic” education. He said American-loathing libs are weaving a “twisted web of lies.” It’s really going to bring us together.
But the best aspect of America 250, presented by MAGA, is we’ll be celebrating the long history of our republic’s democratic institutions as they’re being blown up. Ooh, ah!
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Who will win before celebrating the semi quin?
FILE – The U.S. Flag flies at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2023. The United States has started the …
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